HMS Paramour was a 6-gun pink

Pink (ship)

A pink is one of two different types of ship.The first was a small, flat-bottomed ship with a narrow stern; the name derived from the Italian word pinco. It was used primarily in the Mediterranean Sea as a cargo ship....

 of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

, briefly commanded by the astronomer

Astronomer

An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...

 Edmond Halley

Edmond Halley

Edmond Halley FRS was an English astronomer, geophysicist, mathematician, meteorologist, and physicist who is best known for computing the orbit of the eponymous Halley's Comet. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, following in the footsteps of John Flamsteed.-Biography and career:Halley...

, initially as a civilian and later as a "temporary captain".

Paramour was built by Fisher Harding of Deptford

Deptford

Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...

 and launched in April 1694. She was rigged as a three-masted ship and was the first vessel built specifically as a research vessel for the Royal Navy. On one occasion during her sea-trials the visiting Tsar Peter I

Peter I of Russia

Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...

took her helm.

After three voyages under Halley's captaincy she was refitted in 1702 as a bomb ketch (equipped with a large calibre mortar) in which capacity she remained in the Royal Navy until 22 August 1706 when she was sold to Captain John Constable for (probably) mercantile service. Her subsequent fate is unknown.